


Bad habit

by Felisorablue



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: ALL ABOARD THE ANGST TRAIN, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Character Development, Childhood Friends, Enemies With Benefits, Enemies to Lovers, Feelings Realization, Hate Sex, Hurt/Comfort, Leon was an asshole when he was younger, M/M, Making Up, Miscommunication, Pining, Raihan swears as a coping mechanism, Rivals, Rough Sex, Rutting, Sign Language, Slow Burn, They'll get nicer I swear, Wall Sex, but gone wrong, choo choo motherfuckers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:08:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22043827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Felisorablue/pseuds/Felisorablue
Summary: The first time it happened, they met in the locker room, angry and looking for a fight.But that was the first time.Then the second time. And the third.Three years pass. It kept happening.And then it became more than just a hate fuck.
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan, Hop/Masaru | Victor, Rurina | Nessa/Sonia
Comments: 62
Kudos: 306





	1. Meet me

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy yall!  
> So, I was scrolling through the raileon tag here on ao3 and i thought i was lacking some spice known as that good classic hate sex. Lets add some flavor, ey? I'm not known for under-seasoning my fics, so this is gonna be fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aite boys lets fuckin go

Raihan’s eyes narrow as Duraludon faints and falls to the ground. He lost. Again.

“Once again, your Unbeatable Champion shows his amazing strength! Leon wins the battle against gym leader Raihan!”

The deafening roar of the crowd mingling with the boom of the announcer makes the air vibrate. Leon, as usual, grins a wide sparkling white smile as he waves enthusiastically to the crowd. 

Raihan glares harder. Boasting asshole. 

“Thank you all for coming to this brilliant match! We hope to see you next time!” The speakers boom as Raihan calls Duraludon back into his pokeball with a tense jaw. 

As the crowds file out of the stands, Leon meets Raihan’s eyes. The bright innocent joy of his victory in his eyes is replaced within seconds with something darker and meaner, like burning charcoal. Raihan curls the corner of his lip into a snarl as he glares at him. Leon raises his head high and quirks an eyebrow up. A non-verbal challenge. 

Raihan flips him off and watches as Leon walks away. He already knows. 

Leon still gives him the same look now as he did three years ago, and it still means what it did back then too.

_ Meet me in the locker room. _

  
  


\---THREE YEARS AGO---

  
  


“Is that all you got, Raihan? These dragons of yours are more like little back-alley rattata!”

Leon smirked as yet another one of Raihan’s pokémon fainted, falling to the ground in front of him, limp. Raihan’s chest filled with white hot rage as Leon keeps chirping and taunting him. 

He’s down to his last pokemon- and he’s yet to take down any of Leon’s. He and his pokemon had trained so hard for this event, and not only was he probably going to lose, he’s going to lose to this  _ smug fucking asshole _ . 

Leon lounged, rocked back on his heels with a shit eating grin. “Come on, show me something interesting already.” 

Raihan wishes he could have been more mature in that moment. Freshly nineteen, he was supposed to be an  _ adult _ by now. 

But no. 

Of course not. 

So, sour and hot headed off of Leon’s taunts, he made a mistake. 

He let Duraladon out of his pokeball and immediately shouted, “Duraladon, Iron Head!”

He sneers.  _ Look, Leon. We're strong. As strong as steel! That Steel attack has one shot so many gym challengers, and now- _

He watched as the attack landed...and did just close to nothing. 

_ Oh .  _

Leon laughed, hands on his hips. “You idiot! A Steel type move against a Fire type? Charizard, Fire Blast!”

Raihan watched as the attack hit Duraladon. The heat of the fire had him backing up and shielding his face. 

The crowd howled around him, cheers and chants for Leon grating against him. When he opens his eyes, Duraladon had collapsed in front of him. 

He had lost. 

Again. 

But this one was different. 

This one  _ burned. _

He slowly looks up from his fainted pokemon until he meets Leon’s eyes. Proud? No, arrogant. 

Raihan’s eyes narrowed into a deadly glare and he felt a flicker of icy pride when he saw Leon’s triumphant smirk falter. 

He called Duraladon back to his pokeball, all while keeping eye contact with Leon. Leon’s smile had almost completely faded now, with his eyes widened slightly.

Leon quickly recalls Charizard and with stiff steps, they both walked forward to the middle of the arena to shake hands. But as their hands met, tension ripped between them like electricity. 

With a voice so low it’s become a growl, Raihan speaks to Leon.

“Meet me in the locker room.”

Leon’s eyes widen further, blinking. But Raihan doesn’t give him any more time to respond. He pulls his hand from Leon’s and stalks, fuming, off the field. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so this is a tiny little short beginning. We'll get into the fun stuff in the next chapter ;) so hang tight, k? It's coming.  
> (haha coming cus next chapter is smut) 
> 
> Also I don't know how long this is going to be yet, so...hang tight, yeah?  
> Cool cool, see ya.


	2. Accidents happen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The messy- literally- beginning of it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Raihan stormed into the locker room, flushed with anger and embarrassment. He ripped off his jacket and flung it across the room. He didn’t watch for where it fell, too busy turning to a locker and punching it with an angry yell. His knuckles immediately stung, but he shoved the pain away as he glared down at the floor. 

He knew he made a mistake- on a stupid type match up - but Leon didn’t have to capitalize on it like he did! 

_ Arrogant, selfish bastard… _

He dug his locker key out of his pocket and jammed roughly into the lock. He tugged off his sweaty shirt and shoved it into his locker, reaching for the clean spare. 

“Raihan, did you  _ mean _ to put your jacket on  _ my _ bag?”

Raihan froze, blue flame anger reigniting in his gut. 

_ So that’s where it fell, then. _

“No. Why would I do that.”

Not a question. A challenge. 

Leon met his glare with narrowed eyes of his own, standing up to his full height from where he was hunched over his bag. “You said to meet you here.”

“I did.”

Leon raised an eyebrow. It's felt judging and Raihan grows even more irritated. 

“So you called me here so you could be a sore loser?”

Raihan’s face scrunched with rage, lips pulled back into a snarl, revealing his dagger like canine teeth. 

“Leon, you’re a fucking asshole.”

Leon smirked. “Yeah, what are you gonna do about it? Battle me? Oh wait, I would win.”

With a roar, Raihan lunged at Leon, taking him off guard. He grabbed him by the biceps and slammed him against the locker room wall, too furious to be happy about his height advantage as he loomed over Leon. He pressed Leon flat on the wall, chest to chest and hips to hips. 

“Listen to me you little shit, I could knock you flat myself any day if you didn’t have that overgrown fire chicken in your pocket, so I suggest you watch it with me,” Raihan snarled. 

Leon squirmed under him, glaring back. “Rai-”

Raihan pushed harder, until Leon used his hands to grab his hips and try to push him away with a grunt. 

“You little-” 

They shove and push for a second until Raihan grabbed Leon’s wrists and pinned them against the wall. He leaned hard against him with all his weight, pushing from his toes. They’re both panting. 

“Just because you’re the Champion-” Raihan spat the word like it's something bitter, “doesn’t mean you get to shit-talk everyone with so much confidence- uh!”    
Leon had tried to knee him, squirming and bucking. “Raihan, damnit-!”

“Stay put!”

Raihan pushed him back against the wall with a huff and held him steady there, taking in the pretty pink flush on Leon’s face and how he panted as they glared at each other. 

“Raihan,  _ what _ is the point of this?”

He scoffed. “Proving a point.”

Leon bucked again, Raihan pushed back with a hiss escaping his teeth. At this point, he didn’t really have a reason to keep him pressed against the wall...except there’s something tight winding in his gut, with Leon trapped under him.    
“Would you-” Leon tried again, bucking against him. Except, he wasn’t pushing from his shoulders anymore, he was pushing with his hips. 

_ Is he- _

Raihan groaned shortly at the unexpected pressure and leans back from Leon so their bodies are no longer touching other than his hands on Leon’s wrists. “You-”

Leon flushed deeper. “Shut up Raihan, you’re- you’re imagining-”

Raihan glared at him. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

“Shut  _ up _ , Rai-”

Raihan rushed in on him, pressing him flat on the wall again. “ _ Don’t. Tell me. What to do. _ ”

Leon snarled at him again. “Then stop talking- gnnh-”

Raihan pressed into him again, feeling the stiff hardness curved up against his hip through those stupid baseball shorts. “Then don’t fucking tell me what-” He cut himself off with a shallow inhale and a groan as Leon ground his hips against his cock. 

He found himself rutting forward against Leon, cocks rubbing together through their pants, and he failed to pinch back the groan in his throat.

They panted as their pace picked up, Raihan grinding against Leon, who’s hips could barely hitch forward from where he’s pinned to the wall. At some point, Leon slipped a hand from Raihan’s hold and it fell to grip his hip, urging him to grind harder. 

“I-” Leon clawed at Raihan’s shorts, tugging at the waist band. 

“Yeah, yeah-” Raihan gasped as Leon yanked his shorts down and his dick sprung free, cloudy white pearling at the tip already. Raihan reached down to roughly pull down Leon’s own shorts, quickly pressing back against him and shuttering out a moan at the feeling of their cocks rubbing skin on skin. 

Sticky, wet, soft, and so  _ so _ good.

Leon wrapped his arm around his waist, short nails scraping against his back as he thrust forwards, trapping their dicks between their stomachs and their combined heat.

With friction practically swallowing his cock, Raihan’s hips thrust forward reflexively, rubbing against Leon. 

“Hn-ah-” Leon gasped at the sudden increase in sensation, and the raw electricity of skin against skin had Raihan shivering. 

He pressed against Leon harder, grinding their cocks purposefully together, heat swirling dangerously in his gut. 

A particularly strong thrust makes the heads of their cocks rub together and he groaned, head dropping forward as more precome dribbles out of the tip. 

“Rai-”

“Shut up,” He wheezed, shutting his eyes against the burning pleasure balling in his stomach as he ground forward. 

Suddenly, Leon’s hand flew up to his shoulder, fingers digging into the muscles there as he tensed under Raihan with a long groan and white spurted between their stomachs. 

Raihan ground forward one last time and squeezed his eyes shut tight as he shuddered through his orgasm, feeling the hot come spill between them. 

Gradually, he stopped shaking, and reality came crashing back into him like a truck. 

_ I just got off with my rival. _

Leon seemed to be coming back to his senses too, as he panted. He looked confused, but also kinda pissed off, and Raihan was immediately closing off again.

“Raihan, what the-”

“Not even going there.” Raihan tore himself away from Leon like he was diseased and shakily rushed to his still open locker. He grabbed his dirty shirt, wiped himself clean with two swipes and shoved his clean shirt on.

“Raihan, I swear to-”

He grabbed his jacket from where it still lay on Leon’s bag, stuffed it into his bag, slammed his locker closed, and got out of there before Leon trapped him into talking about whatever the fuck that was.

At least he knew one thing- it would never happen again.

….probably. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there's technically no chickens in pokemon but im ignoring that because that phrase was funny.  
> also I was halfway through writing this and I realised that this is the first time ive actually given characters very personality traits, so. thats interesting and new. hint: raihan is more fiery and unpredictable, and swears as a way to add kick to his sentences. leon says peoples name when hes talking to them and doesnt swear much.  
> cool, so heres another chapter done. this is the fastest ive ever churned out a new work and chapters, so lets see if  
> i keep that pace up, ey? let me know what yall think! thanks for reading!
> 
> If ya wanna chat, you can find me on twitter @Lynxkay or on tumblr @felisorablue (my main) or coffeewhisker (my fandom side). I don't bite so come say hello, ey?


	3. Chase

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yo yo yo, i’m back! This chap is much longer than the little baby ones before. and i made a spotify playlist to go with this shiz so [Check it out](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2z8KSQKB2lX3OwgOzqC134?si=o1jejX-pTVmhUh2fCP14-g)
> 
> and i uh. i uhhh i looked at the story outline i wrote and uh, i think i underestimated how long this thing is gonna be? If my estimations are right- and they usually are when it comes to my writing- this is gonna be a beast of a thing. So. hold onto your socks with me, aye?

\---CURRENT DAY---

Raihan stalks to the locker room, blood already heating at the thought of getting Leon under him again. Why Leon doesn’t fight back against him- or try to be the top, like ever- mystifies him, but he’s not complaining. 

Hearing muffled movement from behind the door to the locker room, he pushes it open to see Leon already inside, digging around in his locker with his back turned to him. 

Leon turns around to the sound of the door closing, eyes casting up to meet with Raihan’s. And they would have, if Raihan was looking at his face. 

Which he isn’t. 

Currently, Leon’s bare chest is far more interesting. The smooth round of his pecs makes Raihan want to mark up the unblemished skin with bite marks, pull his pretty pink nipples into his mouth and suck just to make Leon squirm. The faint purple line of hair leading into his jeans- huh, since when does he wear anything else than that stupid baseball theme battle outfit?- is almost as distracting as the fact that he’s taken his hat off and left his hair down, easy to pull when he’s got him bent over one of the marble counters in the connected bathroom.

Basically, he looks like an entire goddamn meal that Raihan can’t wait to dig into. 

He’s pulled from his... _admiring_...when Leon turns his back to him, back to his locker. Of course, his back isn’t bad either, seeing the muscles move and flex under his skin with every tiny shift that he makes, but Raihan has a gym to run so they need to make this quick. 

He comes up behind Leon and hooks his fingers through the belt loops on his jeans before pulling his hips back so his plump ass is pressed against his crotch. 

Leon keeps his attention firmly in his locker, screwing around on his phone if he’s going by the sound of the keyboard. 

Raihan pulls him back harder, grinding forward against the cleft of his ass as he shifts his hands to bite his fingers into the flesh of his hips, narrowing his eyes. 

Leon turns his head to glare at him. “Not helping, Raihan.”

“You weren’t paying attention, and I don’t exactly have infinite time for this. Do you want it or not?”

Leon goes back to looking at his phone. He would seem utterly disinterested if he wasn’t rocking back against Raihan. “Back of the locker.”

Raihan wraps an arm around Leon’s waist to keep him pressed up against his as he uses the other to reach into Leon’s locker, fetching the bottle of clear lube from a back corner and tucking it into his pocket for easy use in a moment.

Just as he’s reaching down to undo the button of Leon’s jeans, Leon’s phone rings. 

Raihan freezes. He knows that ringtone.

He slowly retracts his grip on Leon like he’s disgusted. Hell, maybe he actually _is._ He doesn’t know what he’s feeling. He never does when it comes to _him._

“Why the hell is the _Chairman_ calling you _now?_ ,” he hisses.

Leon turns his head just enough to give Raihan a belittling look. “Because I have a meeting with him in…” Leon checks his watch. It blinks white numbers that read 3:16. “Fourteen minutes.”

Raihan feels as if he’s been hit over the head with a frying pan. “Wha- you _knew?_ ”

“Sure.” Leon easily pulls away from him, reaching into his locker for what looked to be another one of those stupidly tight t-shirts that show every little detail of his body. “He said he’d call after three. Didn’t say a specific time, so I left it open.” When he looks at Raihan, he almost looks pitying. 

But Raihan knows that look well. It's all things insulting, but mostly it means _pathetic._

“Well, Rai, maybe you should have moved faster. I ‘don’t exactly have infinite time for this’.”

“Leon, you mother _fucker-,_ you could have just said no- _”_

Leon scoops up his bag, now fully dressed. The fact that he actually looks damn good makes some mix between arousal and hatred spike in Raihan’s stomach. 

He casually pushes past Raihan, making for the door with his bag slung over his shoulder. “Where’s the fun in that?”

Raihan’s hands curl into fists in frustration. “So you think I’m just some easy slut for you to have when you want? You son of a bitch, you have to earn-”

Leon is out the door before he could even finished his sentence. 

Raihan stares at the space Leon had occupied, shocked that he actually walked out on him like that. Sure, he had turned down their little after-battle deal before. He had stopped him in the middle before- like the first time they had tried anal sex. Whatever, fine. Consent is important and while Raihan might be an asshole sometimes, he respects the word no. 

But after teasing him, working him up and then _leaving_ with everything smug and ‘better than thou’ on his face to go play teachers pet for the stuck up politician that Chairman Rose is?

Raihan is _Pissed. Off._

After beating him in battle, Leon decides to make him feel a fool even more by playing with him like a toy before throwing him away? 

_This isn’t over._

…

The hours he spends at his gym blur by in a angry haze. While doing paperwork, tutoring his gym trainers for the upcoming gym challenge, when Nessa comes in to drag him out of his work for their weekly coffee meet and gossip thing, and up until he catches a glimpse at the TV in the cafe he and Nessa are visiting. 

Flashes of cameras and tailored suits, slimy smiles and noses stuck in the air. Rich, egotistical bastards. 

Raihan glares daggers at the screen until Nessa waves her hand in front of his face. 

“Helloooo? Earth to Raihan?”

He blinks. “What?”

Nessa rolls her eyes dramatically, flapping a hand at him. “Are you going to try and kill the TV with your mind more or are you actually going to talk to me?”

Raihan throws a last glimpse at the TV- some entitled looking old man with a receding hairline was talking into a microphone -before twisting back in his seat to face Nessa. “Hi, yes, I’m here.”

Nessa smirks playfully. “Oh, hello. Nice to see you.”

Raihan snorts and takes a sip of his coffee before leaning back in his chair and wincing as the thin metal dug into his spine. God, these chairs suck. He leaned forward and plopped his head into his hands instead.

Nessa clears her throat. “Sooo...how have you been?”

Raihan sighs. She _knows_ how he is. She saw the match earlier. 

She hums. “That bad, huh?”

Raihan groans, sitting up. “Did you see how he took us down?? He looked so fuckin’ _relaxed_ about it too. Like, c’mon, could you at least _appear_ to put in an effort? It’s not like beating you has been my goddamn life’s mission or anything.” Raihan’s voice rises and he throws his hands up in exasperation. “Just take a nap on the field while you’re at it, yeah?"

Nessa nods silently, letting him rant as she sips her coffee.

Raihan huffs, on a roll. He always is when it came to Leon. "Get comfy. Get a massage. Do your nails in the same shitty golden color as your fuckin’ _eyes_ . Just cus ya’ can, aye? Cus you’re the _Unbeatable Champion_ aka Chairman Rose’s goddamn Sim character or somethin’. Bet he even has to tell you to go to the damn loo.” 

He pauses to take a breath in order to continue, but is stopped by Nessa giggling into her coffee. 

“What?”

She snorts, making an effort to keep herself from giggling more- and failing as she shakes with laughter.

“ _What?_ ”

“Dude,” she wheezes through her laughter, “you are so oblivious!”

Raihan looks at her as if she’s gone nuts. Maybe she has. “What the fuck are you talking about.”

She points in his face as she snorts like a pig, still failing to control her laughter. “Exactly!!”

“What even- how to beat him? I’m oblivious to that? I’m _trying_ to, but-”

That sparks even more giggling from Nessa. Raihan is beginning to think she’s drunk. He rolls his eyes. 

“Okay, let me know when you’ve returned to the land of the sane.”

He waits a moment as Nessa pulls herself somewhat back together.

“Hi. Welcome back. What was that about.”

Nessa giggles weakly, wiping her eyes. “Christ, the fact that you don’t even know is so priceless. Golden color, my ass…” She rubs a hand down her face with a dumb grin. “This is honestly so fun to watch, you dancing around each other like you're doing ballet.”

Raihan stares at her with a scrutinizing glare. “Have you been drinking? Or smoking? What shit are you on?”

She takes a sip of her coffee. “I’ve been drinking your idiocy and smoking your stupidity. God, you crack me up.”

Raihan opens his mouth to spit something back, but a flash of familiar gold catches his eye and he looks back up at the TV. 

Chairman Rose is speaking to someone off screen, likely answering press questions. But the dumb swoop of his ratatta-tail hair isn’t what has his lip curling into a snarl. It’s that Leon is standing by his side smiling, like some kind of arm candy. 

Also the fact that Leon is in a shimmering dark blue suit that makes his amber eyes glow like gems and his hair is-

_Holy shit his hair is braided._

_(he looks so good)_

Raihan’s face twists in anger as his stomach clenches with something else. “He left me to go play _dress-up_? Fucking prick!”

He pushes himself from his chair so fast that it screeches backwards across the floor and tips over. Nessa thankfully catches it at the last second, a baffled look on her face. 

“Left you?”

Raihan storms out the door of the cafe, making Nessa jog to catch up. 

“Hey! Talking to you! Who left you? Leon??”

Raihan scoffs. “Yeah, smug fucker, ain’t he? I’m gonna go and talk to him about it.”

Nessa looks on, dazed, as he lets out Flygon and hops on his back. 

“Thanks for the coffee,” Raihan calls from the air. “I’ll see you around. Right after I kick Leon’s ass.”

Nessa waves, stunned, as he and Flygon fly off in the direction of Rose’s tower. 

She blinks blankly at the sky once she can no longer see them. 

“Holy shit, Sonia wasn’t lying. He and Leon are actually-”

…

The evening chill bites at Raihan’s arms as he and Flygon soar through the sky towards Chairman Rose’s tower and he shivers. Damn the cold. 

At least night has fallen, so maybe he’ll be on time now. 

Raihan had taken a chance back at the cafe, hoping that at the time he arrived at the tower the party or meeting or Look, My Bank Balance is Bigger Than Yours thing is over and finished and he can actually corner Leon. 

What he’ll do after that...he hasn’t gotten there yet, but he’ll just wing it. That usually works fine. 

He shivers again. Maybe it's the altitude. 

He leans forward, closer to Flygon’s head as to talk to him. “Flygon, drop lower.”

Flygon immediately dips low, dropping quickly. Raihan’s ears pop, making him rub at them with a wince. 

They come to a comfortable glide with a good vantage point over the streets as they approach the tower, scanning the road for any sign of-

_There._

He sees Leon rounding a corner of the tower streets, presumably just having left as the front doors to the tower are still swinging closed faintly. 

“Flygon, land in front of him.”

With a chirp of understanding, Flygon dives forwards. They whip over Leon- Raihan revels in the startled yelp that he hears- and make a quick stop in front of him, Flygon flapping his wings and trilling like a rearing horse. 

_Dramatic entrance, check._

Cold anger chills his chest ass Raihan slides off of Flygon’s back and lands on the sidewalk. 

Meanwhile, Leon gawks at him, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. “Wha-what the-”

“You walked out on me mid-conversation, you asshole,” Raihan growls. 

Leon sputters, still trying to process his arrival. “I-what- that was this morning!”

Raihan goes closer with slow, long strides. “Our battle was at three in the afternoon. That’s not the morning, or are you just as bad at reading clocks as you are with directions?”

Leon shuts his mouth for a moment, straightening himself with a glare. “Raihan, the specific timing doesn't matter, the fact that you hung onto this...grudge or whatever for this long is just...pushing it.”

Raihan scoffs, indignance heating him. _He’s_ the one in trouble? “I- seriously? The fact that you walked out of the room when I was mid-fucking-sentence for an old narcissistic bastard with a stick up his ass is the thing that’s pushing it!”

He can see Leon’s jaw work as he sucks in a hiss of breath, patience wearing rightfully thin. 

_Good._

“Rai...We both have better things to worry about. I mean, the gym challenge is starting _tomorrow_.”

Raihan clicks his tongue disapprovingly. “You’re deflecting.”

Leon shifts his weight from one hip to the other, making the fabric of the suit hug his body even more while he moves. “I’m just stating facts. Facts that affect you too, as a gym leader.”

Facts. 

Right.

Never did like those much.

_Like the fact that-_

Raihan advances, getting close enough to be about to make Leon tilt his head to look up at him. He grins, ice cold, canine teeth glinting like fangs. “You’re just looking for a way to get rid of me again. Trying to throw me out like trash like you did when you became the goddamn champion?”

Leon is silent, eyes hardened and muscles tense. 

Raihan sneers in his face, his breath hot. “You always were a coward.”

With a rush of movement, something hard swings up and into his jaw. Raihan stumbles and falls sideways onto the sidewalk, putting his hands out just fast enough to catch himself from landing on his face. His knees immediately ache from the impact.

He blinks in shock. Huh. He hadn’t been punched in a while. Forgot what it was like. 

Sharp and aching at the same time. 

Leon breathes heavily, sounding shaky, a couple feet away. 

Raihan looks up at him with caution, spitting out a ball of blood at his feet from where he is on his knees. Leon’s eyes flicker to the splatter of vibrant red and visibly swallows. 

The darkness of night is fooling his eyes. Leon’s eyes don’t usually look that shiny..or wet.

Leon opens his mouth and hesitates. He glances away and sniffles before meeting Raihan’s eyes.

He speaks quietly, so quietly it's almost as if his words are just a breath.

“I made the right choice when I turned away from you, Raihan. And...and I would do it again.”

Raihan’s face goes blank.

The silence is thin and delicate. 

Raihan is pretty sure that he’s not shaking because of the cold.

Leon blinks and looks away, eyes on the ground. He pulls a pokeball from his bag and releases Charizard, who stretches his wings out before standing still and waiting.

Leon glances at him with an indecipherable look before joining Charizard and climbing onto his back.

Raihan can just barely hear his request to Charizard to take him home before they leap into the sky and fly away into the dark.

He ends up spending a long, long time staring into the dark night sky where they disappeared. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehehe backstory and foreshadowing  
> also hehehehehe oops pain  
> theres gonna be more pain coming too! so. put your seatbelt on.  
> using my creative license to make leon wear a better outfit than that monster mash of whatever the fuck he usually wears. Jeans and a tight tshirt are fine for meeting with the chairman, aye?  
> Also, leon in a suit is a full meal.  
> Oh! And this work is particularly interesting to me because I’m writing from Raihan’s pov and im writing him as the top here.  
> which is interesting as im  
> not  
> very  
> yes  
> Oh and im currently thirsting for Leon In A Braid(™) and youre going to have to suffer that thirst with me  
> I was inspired by [this](https://66.media.tumblr.com/9ac99d88310b62e5bbece5af331f4cec/eb69e0d08d83f6c1-4d/s1280x1920/1fe0c477ca6ffb8ae8236462338b667f15dd9ad8.jpg) for the braid so go n look  
> Mkay so mgonna go n sleep cus  
> Im tired  
> But i love yall, thank you soo much for the crazy amount of support on this, i wasnt expectin all that  
> drop a review if ya want. make my day. (or night. it's 3 am. holy shit)


	4. When you're having fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi im not dead  
> i kinda fell out of the fandom (i jump hyperfixations a lot) but i still wanna write this and get it done so here i am. also my computer broke for a while and i got like super bad vertigo for a while- as in i couldnt even stand up- so writing didnt happen.  
> whatever, anyway im back and i'll try to get through this fic while also keeping the quality of the work as high as i can  
> yeet k lets go

Raihan grunts in discomfort as he readjusts his position on his couch and presses the ice pack back onto his jaw gingerly.

Fuck, Leon’s really improved his right hook since last time. 

He picks his phone back up from off of the coffee table and opens Instagram, scrolling through with a thumb. If he’s got to be stuck at home nursing a bruised face- and ego, but who’s counting-, he might as well use that time to interact with his fans. 

Plus, he needs to wait for Nessa to get here with some concealer. 

Instagram is the same as always; yamper picture, skitty picture, arcanine picture, another skitty- oh? 

He recognises this picture. 

It's old. 

Like, 15 years old. 

Young Leon stands proudly, grinning a wide toothy smile, with the pokemon he would one day call his champion. The tiny charmander is looking up at him curiously with wide young eyes. 

Raihan’s chest squeezes sourly. He remembers the picture well. Mostly because he used to be _in it._ This one had cropped him out.

He had been standing next to Leon when his mother had taken it, with his very happy looking new trapinch held snugly under one arm while the other was raised to the sky in an excited fist. 

It had been their first day as pokemon trainers. Them against the world. 

But that had changed when-

“Raihan!”

He looks up from his phone as Nessa bangs on his door, clearly irritated.

“You did not text me at seven in the morning to get you your stupid concealer just to ignore me! Let me in! And make me a coffee!”

He huffs, letting his arm flop sideways to drop his phone onto the carpet. “Yeah, yeah, hold onto your ass, jeez.”

As he gets up from the couch and greets a fuming Nessa, he doesn’t hear his phone momentarily ring or see Leon’s contact flash on his screen before abruptly hanging up again. He also doesn’t see his news app notification:

**Champion Leon personally endorses two new trainers for the Gym Challenge.**

\------

Having a bruised jaw isn’t necessarily a good reason for shirking his duties as a gym leader, especially on the first day of the gym challenge. 

So in the end, Nessa succeeds in shoving him out the door after he puts on his concealer. It takes less than five minutes for news reporters to be all over him, shoving their microphones in his face. 

“Gym leader Raihan, how do you feel about this year’s gym challenge? Do you think Champion Leon will crush you again?”

“Leader Raihan, what are your plans for this season? You’ll be challenging a lot of new trainers!”

“Gym leader Raihan, what are your thoughts on your high chances to lose to Leon once again this year? Surely you’re tired of this cycle!”

He fiercely ignores them and lets Flygon out of his pokeball, getting ready to take flight. 

“Gym leader Raihan, what do you think about the trainers that Champion Leon endorsed?”

That one caught him off guard. “Huh?”

The reporter grins, triumphant, and shoves their microphone closer. “Champion Leon has endorsed two trainers for the gym challenge! How are you feeling about this? Threatened?”

The little tolerance he had immediately evaporates. Raihan’s eye twitches in irritation, the corner of his lip curling back. “I didn’t know, and there’s no reason for me to care. I’ll still crush them.”

The reporters squeal and babble more questions as he mounts Flygon and shoots into the sky, leaving them chasing him from the ground, looking more and more like ants the higher and farther he flies away.

He sighs, flopping forward to rest his forehead against Flygon as they glide. The gym challenge has only just started, and he’s already sick of it. 

\------

As soon as he lands in front of Hammerlocke gym, one of his trainers greets him with the ever so comforting phrase. 

“Already stirring the media, ey?” 

Raihan raises an eyebrow. “What’d I do now?”

“You don’t remember?” The trainer chuckles. “Apparently you said you were going to crush the trainers that Champion Leon endorsed. Pretty ballsy of you.” 

As he ends his sentence, Raihan waits for him to continue. When he doesn’t, he raises an eyebrow. “Uh, ok. Why? They’re just trainers, and young ones at that.”

The trainer’s eyebrows shoot up. “Woah, you don’t know? Jeez, I thought you were always on twitter.” He pulls out his phone and swipes until he finds what he’s looking for. “Here, look.” 

Raihan leans forward to look at the screen and blinks. “Wait, that’s-”

The trainer nods. “It’s Leon’s brother, yeah! Hop! Sweet kid, but if he’s as good as his big brother then he’ll be a beast of a trainer.”

Raihan takes the trainer's phone and scrolls down to the comments.

 **Sunny15989** @sunnywithasideofgay

Replying to @LilDragonTrainer

omg i’m so excited to see hop go and be awesome!! kick your brothers ass for me 

**InspectorFish** @pikachubro

Replying to @LilDragonTrainer

Ugh hop is annoying like i know what type match ups are, go read a book

 **Sunny15989** @sunnywithasideofgay

Replying to @pikachubro and @LilDragonTrainer

Dude go put your hate somewhere else

 **Bigtiddyrights** @KqTSUKI

Replying to @LilDragonTrainer

Ok hop is Goodest Boy but have you seen Leon?? Dude got tiddy game as fuck （ ﾟ Дﾟ)

 **Kirishimaisbaby** @fangirlKaz2y5

Replying to @LilDragonTrainer

Good luck you guys!! You got this!

 **FIRETYPES** @Alladatypes

Replying to @LilDragonTrainer

Who’s the kid next to hop? 

**Sebscales** @LilDragonTrainer

Replying to @Alladatypes

That’s Victor! He’s one of Hop’s friends. He’s kinda quiet, but I think he’s gonna be one of those trainers that comes out of nowhere with beast power and surprises everyone, so watch out for him!

The comments blur as Raihan keeps scrolling and he sighs. 

If this is his up and coming competition, and they’re already getting this much attention…this is gonna be a long, insufferable month.

He hands the phone back to the trainer wordlessly and rolls up his sleeves. He’s got training to do. 

\------A week into the Champion Challenge------

The screen buffers for a moment before a blue intro screen plays an animation of a small cartoon character, who bounces around the screen as dubstep plays. The title GuessWork appears, shakes for a moment, and dissolves into sand before the entire screen skips to a young freckled man with wild hair waving to the camera with a wide grin. 

“Hello everyone, and welcome back! I’m Guesswork, and, as you all know, I’m here to provide all of you guys with my theories and observations about the gym leaders, their pokemon, strategies, and….”

He rubs his hands together, narrowing his eyes and leaning forward. His voice comes out deep with auto-tune for drama. “-who to root for this Championship Challenge.”

Dramatic music plays before the screen jump cuts to a graph and Guesswork’s voice-over plays.

“As you can see, I’ve made a graph with our dear gym leaders and their pokemon. Let’s start with the most likely winner: Leon. He’s called Unbeatable for a reason! Raihan will be interesting to watch, but not likely to-”

Raihan closes his laptop with a cold click. Had he clicked on the video knowing it would probably contain this? Yeah. Does he still hate it? Yes. He already knows the other gym leader’s stats and pokemon. He already knows the chances of winning. He already _knows._

Raihan sighs, deflating, and sags back into his couch. What is he even fucking doing, watching fan-made videos based on the dramatized shit they see on TV? They don’t even have the real data. 

_This is stupid._

So, logically, he shoves his computer off his lap so it slides onto the couch and picks up his phone to see if his social media feeds are any better food for his ego. 

He opens twitter with a lazy swipe of his finger, and the blue bird symbol fades to show his dash. He scrolls up for the new tweets and immediately regrets ever opening the app. 

**Miiilo** @thewooloofarmer

Good morning everyone! Who’s training up for the #ChampionshipChallenge? 

157 comments 1,223 retweets 3,198 likes

**Gym Leader Kabu** @FireMasterKabu

I hope everyone is working hard to train your teams up for the Championship.

201 comments 1,934 retweets 2,900 likes

***Melony* <3** @IceQueenMama

Train hard everyone! I want all of you to get strong so I can crush you, ok?

189 comments 2,895 retweets 1,969 likes

**BestBede** @winnerwinner

Don’t bother entering the challenge. I’m gonna win, obviously.

135 comments 15 retweets 2 likes

**GhostNoboy** @Allister23

Do your best, everyone. I look forward to battling you soon

309 comments 2,394 retweets 2,089 likes

**Greatogordie** @rocksrock

Train hard!! Yall really ROCK!! #ChampionshipChallenge #fightme

256 comments 1, 699 retweets 3,420 likes

**Nessa of the waves** @tsunamiwoman 

Get ready for the battle of your life. I’ll wash you away! #ChampionshipChallenge

167 comments 1,276 retweets 1,243 likes

**Piers.** @mcrdeservedbetter

New concert at 9pm tonight. Also, come battle me. 

268 comments 2,789 retweets 3,465 likes

Raihan keeps scrolling. Championship this, championship that. Can’t a guy get a thirst comment for his ego once in a while? Someone throw him a bone here.

He keeps going, text whizzing past and blurring into insignificant white as he goes. He keeps going, not paying too much attention to what he’s passing, until-

“What th-”

He frantically scrolls back up. A video.

Long purple hair, a wide grin, a microphone in his face.

His brain says no. His heart also says no. So, naturally, he clicks on it anyway. Leon’s voice leaps from his phone.

“-eah, of course, anything! How can I help?”

A journalist off screen speaks. “Anything? Oho! Well, Champion, we here at GosTop have been hearing some things about you and, well, I just can’t help myself but wonder if they’re true. Indulge me, would you?”

Raihan winces. GosTop is a brutal news outlet that churns out gossip stories and is known for stirring up drama wherever they go. And by the pinched look on Leon’s face- though well hidden behind his famous Champion Smile-, he knows he’s in trouble too. 

Leon clears his throat. “Uh, yeah, happy to! What are you wondering about?”

The journalist’s sick joy is easy to hear when they reply. “As scandalous as it sounds….I’ve heard you’ve been staying in a bed other than your own….with some... _special_ company.”

Raihan’s skin feels freezer burned. What?

Leon stiffens oh so slightly. No one in the public should be able to notice, but Raihan knows him well enough to recognize panic. 

“Um. No-”

The journalist trills. “Oh, there’s no need to play coy with me. I’ve heard it's been going on for a while...so why hide it?” They gasp. “Don’t tell me! I know! It’s….”

Raihan holds his breath. They hadn’t actually been caught, right? Sure, they weren’t especially careful in the beginning of their….arrangement, but they hadn’t gotten caught then- they would have known if they were- and they were much more careful now. 

The journalist hums in faux thought and Raihan sees Leon's Adam’s apple bob as he swallows under the stress. 

_There’s no way-!_

“Sonia! Of course! It must be the young professor Sonia, right?”

Leon blinks, stress immediately melting into confusion. “What? No, we’re just friends. Plus, Sonia has a girlfriend. She and Gym Leader Nessa came out as a couple a few months ago, remember?”

The journalist makes a show of pretending she forgot while Raihan heaves a sigh of relief. He’s about to swipe away from the video when the journalist pipes up again. 

“Hm, maybe a gym leader then?”

Raihan’s head whips up from where he had let it fall to stare at the screen, mentally begging this damn journalist to shut their trap already.

“A strong trainer, of course, one that almost matches your own strength, Champion? Oh yes of course, how couldn’t I have seen it before? I-”

Raihan swears he’s about to faint from stress when a voice off the screen calls to Leon. “Champion, the chairman is on the phone for you.”

Leon looks like he’s being handed a basket full of puppies and rainbows instead of a phone meeting. “Ah, right!” He walks backwards away from the journalist with his hands up like he’s keeping a feral beast at bay. He may as well be, with such a pushy journalist. “Sorry, gotta go, thanks for the interview, bye!”

Raihan quickly clicks the home button to close twitter before he accidentally watches another video that nearly gives him another two heart attacks.

“That’s enough twitter for a day…” he mutters as he drops his phone onto the couch next to his abandoned computer and walks away to get onto the treadmill and run until the exhaustion wipes that entire interview from his memory. 

\------Two weeks into the Championship Challenge------

Raihan’s eye twitches in annoyance. He knew this was coming, it happens every year, every Championship Challenge.

But _god_ is it a pain in his ass. 

Journalists and reporters stuff up his gym like loud, pushy road bumps. They watch him battle with trainers like hawks, drill him about his pokemon raising choices, they even follow him to his lunch break like a pack of seagulls hunting an abandoned bag of chips. 

It’s ridiculous. 

But the most irritating- infuriating, really- thing is how many of these damn reporters keep bringing up that old rumor. 

“Once again, we come to you from Hammerlocke stadium with the legendary gym leader Raihan training behind us. Last week, we interviewed a fan and uncovered an old rumor that we believe to be true.”

Like today. 

This is the third one today, and he’s about ready to kick someone. 

“This particular rumor is very popular among Raihan’s fans, as well as our Champion’s, based on the fact that it's actually about the both of them. Yes, you guessed it; it's believed that Leon and Raihan used to be best friends when they took part in the Champion Challenge.”

Raihan hisses a breath through his teeth. No matter what bullshit these reporters spew- or who they are, because this particular news source is actually decent-, he’ll always be sick of hearing them talk in his gym.

_If you’re going to talk behind my back, at least do it where I can’t hear you._

The reporter clears his throat before continuing in a foreboding voice. 

“After hearing reports from some of the ex-challengers that took part alongside the two, this rumor has enough evidence behind it to be provable. And of course, there is the question of why they parted ways and became such heated rivals. Did their fierce competition for Champion tear their friendship apart? Or is there some other tragedy in their past? But until we hear it directly from the gym leader or Champion’s mouth...this will remain..unsolved.”

Raihan sighs. They always use that outtro, but at least it’s over. 

The reporter and his crew finally put away their cameras and microphones, clearing their clutter from Raihan’s gym space. 

He mentally flips them off as they walk away, cheerfully laughing between each other.

Boy, he sure loves when his past is used as paper fodder for conspiracy theorists. 

He focuses his attention back onto his trainers, both of which are working smoothly with their pokemon in their practice. They’ve both gotten stronger. 

Good. 

Raihan has a feeling like this Championship is going to be a rough one. 

\------Three weeks into the Champion Challenge------

Ok.

He’ll admit it. 

While Hop doesn’t seem to have the same strength as a Trainer as his big brother, his friend Victor certainly does.

That kid absolutely _destroys_ every trainer that Raihan has sent out there, as well as all the trainers that the other gym leaders have, plus every other trainer in his path, without so much as breaking a sweat. 

He’s not saying he feels threatened, but maybe he’s feeling a little bit threatened.

He hates to admit that maybe one of Leon’s chosen trainers is actually a very strong one, but also because it really does feel like the kid is like a cheap shot sent by Leon, to take him out early. 

So when the eerily quiet and somewhat shy kid walks into his gym, of course he’s interested in what he sees.

Which turns out... isn’t much.

Upon first glance, the kid is pretty unassuming. Slightly shorter than your average young man, dressed in typical comfortable clothes that don’t particularly stick out, keeping his eyes either on the ground or his surroundings. 

But once Victor meets his eyes, the hair on the back of his neck stands up. 

The eyes he meets are dangerous, piercing through every piece of armor and deflecting every ounce of his own aggression. 

Really, it's like looking his own grim reaper directly in the eyes, but he isn’t about to back down from a challenge, so he holds out a hand in welcome.

“Hey. You must be Victor. My trainers have been keeping an eye on you.”

Victor smiles, something small and deceivingly innocent. He uses his hands to sign.

“ _It's nice to meet you, Gym Leader Raihan. I’m honored that you know me_.”

Raihan relaxes his posture in a display of faux trust. “Of course! You’ve been brutal out there. Anyone who _doesn’t_ know your name is in for an unpleasant surprise.” He shifts on his feet, subtly sizing up his opponent, smirking. “But not me. I think you’ll find my team to be a real challenge.”

Victor smiles as well, raising his hands to sign again. “ _That would be refreshing. I hope so too.”_

Raihan almost laughs. This kid has some serious confidence, and they both know it's well backed up.

He turns and lackadaisically waves a hand over his shoulder. “Well, let me know once you’re ready. I’ll go tell my trainers to prepare.”

He glances at Victor, who just holds up a thumbs-up, and sighs. 

This one is gonna be tough.

  
  


\------The fourth and last week into the Champion Challenge------

  
  


_Why am I here again?_

Raihan looks out across the crowd, wildly waving glow sticks and phone lights as the music pumps.

Parties like this are incredibly normal for Champion Challenge season, often held for those of which make it into the semi-finals. 

The question is just...why is _he_ specifically here? He has other things to do other than watching sweaty teens jump up and down and flail. 

He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. Last week, when he was absolutely pummeled into the floor by Victor and his team, Victor had shaken his hand and invited him to his winners dinner.

Raihan, who had still been struck dumb by just how quickly and efficiently his team had been used to wipe the floor, had dumbly nodded.

He regrets everything all over again as another overplayed pop song starts playing.

He doesn’t blame Victor. Kid seemed cooler than this, and he also hadn’t seen him all night. He probably just threw the party for the hell of it, and invited Raihan just to flex that.

But enough is enough, so Raihan turns and looks for an escape route. He needs to get to his hotel and get some rest.

He’s got emails and meetings and other bullshit to go through before the semi-final public welcome officially kicks off tomorrow night, and so he wanders down the road a couple of meters, until he has space and privacy to let Flygon out. 

Flygon pops out of his ball with a short squawk and Raihan lazily crawls on.

“The hotel,” he mutters, and Flygon flaps his wings, taking off smoothly into the night.

Raihan lets out a long breath as they soar. 

It's been a long month, and god knows it's only going to get longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol whoops i kinda slacked on the quality there in the end. time skips arent my friend i guess  
> ugh this chapter too soooo long to finish  
> anyway here ya go, and now im tired and gonna go to sleep bye
> 
> leave a comment if ya like what ya seein

**Author's Note:**

> yo yo thanks for reading. let me know what ya thought, i love getting comments. 
> 
> If ya wanna chat, you can find me on twitter [Lynxkay](https://twitter.com/LynxKay) or on tumblr [Coffeewhisker](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/coffeewhisker) which is my fandom side or  
> [Felisorablue](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/felisorablue) which is my main.  
> I don't bite so come say hello, ey?


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